island traction
Not all "Shopping" bikes are created equal.
The red Moulton was my daily ride for many years, its freight carrying capability and rubber suspension, made it a silky smooth ride, which only got better under load, which often involved 2 weeks shopping from Lidl at Cleveleys being pedalled back to North Shore along the Prom.
By this time it was fitted with high pressure Brompton tyres and mudguards. the adapted rear one had come loose of its mounting with a sickening scrape as I screeched to a halt with it between the tyre and road surface. Thereafter I carried on without it.
The machine in front, was a generic 60/70/80s creation alluding to a Dawes Kingpin or Raleigh Twenty, which to be fair weren't too bad, but this design morphed into cheap far eastern products such as the Universal "Stowaway", which was truly awful.
The Moulton with as much steel as possible by now replaced with alloy parts, rims, bars, stem etc, and a Sturmey Sprinter 5 speed hub was a nippy and capable bike. The bicycling unsophisticated generally asked "Is it a shopper?" or "Is it a folder?" , irritating in the context of the gridiron parked alongside with which they were relating it to.
Not all "Shopping" bikes are created equal.
The red Moulton was my daily ride for many years, its freight carrying capability and rubber suspension, made it a silky smooth ride, which only got better under load, which often involved 2 weeks shopping from Lidl at Cleveleys being pedalled back to North Shore along the Prom.
By this time it was fitted with high pressure Brompton tyres and mudguards. the adapted rear one had come loose of its mounting with a sickening scrape as I screeched to a halt with it between the tyre and road surface. Thereafter I carried on without it.
The machine in front, was a generic 60/70/80s creation alluding to a Dawes Kingpin or Raleigh Twenty, which to be fair weren't too bad, but this design morphed into cheap far eastern products such as the Universal "Stowaway", which was truly awful.
The Moulton with as much steel as possible by now replaced with alloy parts, rims, bars, stem etc, and a Sturmey Sprinter 5 speed hub was a nippy and capable bike. The bicycling unsophisticated generally asked "Is it a shopper?" or "Is it a folder?" , irritating in the context of the gridiron parked alongside with which they were relating it to.